This is stated in the Report of the SEDISA Advisory Council on the adequate generational replacement of health managers.
The Health System needs a generational replacement of Health Managers to be able to respond to the needs of professionals and users.
The generational change of Health Managers is one of the main challenges facing the Health System. Currently, there is not enough generational change to occupy management positions, which are of utmost importance.
In this context, the Spanish Society of Health Managers (SEDISA) has prepared a Report on the appropriate generational replacement of health managers.
José Soto Bonel, President of SEDISA, indicates that the Health System cannot respond to the current needs of its professionals and users and “cannot advance without professional, qualified and reasonably stable direction and management that has as a reference the legacy of previous generations. of health managers and to advance in their training and adaptation of competencies according to each evolutionary context.”
Decalogue to address the need for a generational change
In this framework, the Advisory Council has prepared a decalogue to address the need for a generational change, in an environment in which there are voices that suggest that, at least in the last 10 years, “we are witnessing a crisis that affects to the search for talent in healthcare organizations and that there is great difficulty in replacing managers and the rest of the management teams,” says Mariano Guerrero, President of the SEDISA Advisory Council.
Currently it is necessary to find balance.
On the one hand, it is important to avoid the functional rigidities of those with a vocation for perpetuity.
On the other hand, we must not fall into arrogant “ageism” that hinders the potential contribution generated from the experience of professionals who still have a lot to contribute.
As SEDISA points out, half of the Health Managers who work in Health Organizations are 55 years old or older, and the pool is scarce.
To improve this situation, the technicalization and professionalization of the management and direction of health centers is key, in addition to structural changes in the remuneration of the Manager, as an essential extrinsic motivation to attract younger professionals.
“Half of the Health Managers who work in Health Organizations are 55 years old or older, and the pool is scarce.“
The problem of discredit
One of the causes is the supposed discredit of health management management, sometimes reviled and belittled.
This clearly affects public health, where it seems “the prevailing idea is that anyone can be appointed, as long as they are of the opinion of the person who appoints them and without additional merit being required.”
One of the drawbacks and difficulties for the selection and development of Health Managers is the bureaucratic model of most health organizations. In this sense, “health centers must be equipped with autonomous, proprietary and professional structures and management models.”
The leaders of the organizations must create the conducive environment for internal leaders to emerge, through internal promotion, “taking into account that the Health Manager requires a great specificity of skills and knowledge and, therefore, is professionally “a risky bet because it anchors quite a bit and mobility towards other sectors is limited.”
“The Health Manager requires a great specificity of skills and knowledge and, therefore, is professionally “a risky bet because it anchors quite a bit and mobility towards other sectors is limited.“
Motivation and other forms of organization
The perception of health professionals about managers is of utmost importance since “they can see managers as collaborators contributing value to the common project or as obstacles to professional autonomy, although depending on the leadership of the Managers and Directors and their ability to dialogue, negotiation and conviction to engage professionals in a common organizational project.”
Therefore, it is necessary to motivate professionals to access management positions and, once in them, “change the organization with new styles.”
“The impact of politicization on the election of managers is excessive, in almost all aspects, but especially in professional recognition. In any case, we also believe that professional respect must be earned with credibility, common sense, dialogue and co-responsibility, among other things.” For this reason, Bonel highlights that personal trust should not replace professional trust.
In short, “it is extremely important to promote the role of universities in health management training, at least in making it known in the training of the degree, encouraging and detecting potential managerial vocations,” maintains the SEDISA director.